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Ashburton College principal Ross Preece confirmed he was aware of the incident and the video.

"Yes students are being disciplined over this. There are three suspension meetings scheduled," he said.

Preece said any violence at the college seemed to be at Year 9 and 10 level.

"Our students don't like violence and if you look closely you will see a couple of lads trying to drag a mate out of the scrap, because they are aware that such incidents are treated very seriously by our board of trustees.

"Aside from the traditional stand down and suspensions we are involved in a number of programmes including 'culturally responsive and relational pedagogy' - really about the relationships between learners and teachers.

"Plus 'Positive Behaviour for Learning' and restorative practice. Both of these last two have been the major focus this year.

"We also have 24/7 youth workers to support our students."

Preece said the school was not considering employing security guards.

"There is no gang problem at our school. We have a handful of students from families with gang backgrounds, out of 1200 students, and they respect our school as a place that they can get on with their learning.

"None of the lads involved are gang members or are from gang households. The fight had happened over a stolen bike."

Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey said it had not received complaints about the incident at Ashburton College.

"We have spoken to the principal and are satisfied that the school is taking this matter seriously and has appropriate systems in place to effectively manage this situation.

"We understand how distressing an incident like this can be, not only on those directly impacted, but for all students and staff, and they are aware we are available to provide support if needed," she said.

Casey said all students deserved to feel safe at school.

"We take incidents of violence very seriously and most schools have clear policies and procedures in place to manage this type of unacceptable behaviour.

"The boards of trustees are responsible for behaviour management and disciplinary processes, and make all the decisions themselves on the outcome of any incidents."

The school's board of trustees has also been approached for comment.

The school also made news headlines in March last year after a female student was knocked unconscious in a vicious assault that was filmed and uploaded to social media.

Kaylee Evans, 14, suffered a concussion and was left with chipped teeth after being stomped in the head.